1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an extendible hand hold stability and safety device for golf and other recreation carts that is reachable and usable for children and shorter adults that are unable to reach the currently provided hand holds. More specifically, the invention relates to an extendible hand hold device for golf carts that is securely installed under or molded into and as part of the current canopy roof or a similar and proximal location of a cart that rotates from a flat, clamped position adjacent to the roof when not in use to an accessible position to assist the occupant in providing a reachable and easily accessible hand hold.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of golf carts on and off the golf course as a means of transportation has grown into a billion dollar industry. Golf type carts are now routinely used for transportation purposes at sporting events, airports, hospitals, concerts, apartment complexes, resorts, storage facilities, college campuses, military bases and by many other businesses at various locations. For example, in retirement communities golf carts have become the primary means of transportation, and many communities have approved them for use as street legal vehicles. As the use of these carts is becoming more widespread in settings both on and off the golf course, the number of documented injuries to users has risen. The United States Consumer Products Safety Commission (USCPSC) conducted a study in 2010, which found approximately 15,000 golf cart related injuries requiring emergency room treatment each year. Of these injuries, approximately 40% involve children (age<16) and 50% of these injuries resulted from the user falling from a moving cart, especially during left turns.
The current design of golf carts has evolved over the past 10-15 years and the larger, metal tubular arm rails that were common have been replaced by small, irregularly-shaped hard plastic hip restraints. The old metal arm rails served as both a hand hold device and a restraint for keeping the occupant from sliding off of the cart's bench style seat during its operation including while turning. The new smaller hip restraints have limited effectiveness as a hand hold device due to their size, shape and proximity to a user's arm during normal operation. To provide additional safety, the cart manufacturers have added an alternative hand hold located in the canopy roof top of the golf cart, which allows taller users to a way to stabilize themselves during operation and especially during turns. However, due to its location in the roof and subsequent height above the seat, this hand hold is inaccessible to children and smaller adults because their arms are not long enough to reach the hand hold, which makes them especially susceptible to ejection and falls due to their reliance solely upon the hip restraint as a hand hold for stability. This group is in further danger of their small size and because their feet cannot reach the floor, which makes the need for an accessible hand hold even more important. Several studies have been conducted by various accident research and biomechanical experts which further supports and hows this danger.
It is therefore desirable to have an extendable and retractable hand hold device that is accessible to and can be used by children and smaller adult to assist in holding themselves securely in the cart to help eliminate the possibility of a fall or ejection from the cart during normal operation.